Roles and Duties of company secretary in Malaysia

1. Role and Duties

The Company Secretary (abbreviation Co-Sec) is an Officer of the company and advisor to the Board.
He/She should familiarize himself/herself with the provisions of the Memorandum and Articles of Association of the company.
He/She is expected to be well-versed in the compliance of numerous statutory and regulatory bodies.
He/She must ensure correct procedures are followed and adhere to it in accordance with the Company’s Memorandum and Articles of Association (M&A) and the Companies Act, 1965.
He/she must also be able to advise the Board and to ensure that the interest of the board and members are well-protected at all times.

2. Compliance with Statutory Requirements and Advisory

The Company Secretary should take time to ensure the company remains compliant with legislation outlined in Companies Act 1965 at all times. Including acting as the official liaison party for your company to communicate, preparation and submission of Statutory Returns with the Suruhanjaya Syarikat Malaysia (SSM):

The company secretary must ensure that any change in the company’s statutory information should be duly completed in the relevant prescribed forms and lodged with the registrar of Companies within the required period of time.
The Company Secretary should advise the board of directors of the relevant dates for holding the company’s annual general meeting.

3. Preparation of Boards and Members’ Resolutions and attending meetings

The Company Secretary attend to any of your board meetings and giving general advise on matters relating to company secretarial matters as and when required.
The Company Secretary acts as link between shareholders and the company. This means that any important announcements should be officially communicated. The Secretary will also send out notices (circular resolutions) and liaise with shareholders regarding any shareholder meetings and the Annual General Meeting (AGM) or Extraordinary General Meeting (EGM), if the company chooses to hold one.
Filing annual returns – A company secretary are responsible for the completion and timely submission of the company’s annual return and full accounts by the statutory deadline.

See more at MAICSA’s website.

4. Updating the Company’s Statutory Books and maintaining paperwork

Any changes to the structure of the company need to be recorded in the company’s statutory registers, for example, the Register of Directors and Register of Members. The Company Secretary is responsible for the security and accuracy of important company documents, which include the certificate of incorporation, share certificates, meeting minutes, memorandum and article of associations and other important ones.

The Malaysian Institute of Chartered Secretaries and Administrators (MAICSA) have sum it up perfectly. Take a look at MAICSA’s “Members Role Charter”